C'mon Natalie

Let's go guys

At the same time

Let's go guys!

In day 10 of my Taiwan Trip, my friend Natalie and I went to visit Jiufen, which is one of

the most popular tourist destinations in Northern Taiwan.

From Taipei, it only takes about an hour and a half by train and bus, and is definitely

worth a visit if you have a chance to go.

Jiufen is a small town located on the Northern tip of Taiwan which is built into the mountains

so it offers some stunning views of both the surrounding area and nearby Ocean.

Before it became a popular tourist destination, Jiufen was actually a gold mining town.

And if you look in the right places, you can still find some random caves that you can

walk through and explore.

Jiufen is no longer a mining town, but still thrives due to thousands of tourists coming

to visit everyday.

Why so many tourists?

You might ask.

And with views like this, it’s quite easy to understand why.

But actually, one of the largest reasons is due to its resemblance to the setting of Hayao

Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s famous film, Spirited Away, which was released in 2001.

Regardless of if you’ve seen the movie or not, Jiufen is full of breathtaking views.

This narrow path along a steep set of stairs, endless red lanterns, and the infamous Jiufen

A Mei Teahouse is probably the most iconic view in all of Jiufen.

It was easily the most condensed area we encountered, with everyone selfie-stick equipped and walking

at a zombie like pace.

Most of the attractions are located in what is known as Jiufen Old Street, and the entrance

is right by the main road where you arrive.

The old street is a winding path full unique shops selling all sorts of different souvenirs

and foods.

It’s fairly simple to navigate since it’s mainly an out-and-back path, but there are

some side streets that you’ll want to explore as well.

The famous teahouse and stairs you saw earlier are on one of the larger side streets, so

be sure to not miss it!

Of course, what interested me the most was all of the different foods and sweets.

One of my favorites was the Taro potato flavored ice cream covered with peanuts and wrapped

in a crepe-like material.

Delicious!

Another famous sweet that you must try while in Jiufen is taro ball sweet soup.

At the top of the stairs on one of the main side streets, there is a very famous shop

which sells this.

This shop also has a fantastic viewing area, so you can enjoy the surrounding scenery as you eat.

Taro ball sweet soup is probably quite strange for westerners who aren’t used to Asian-style

sweets, but don’t let that turn you away.

basically the bottom of the cup is filled with ice, and then covered with a variety

of hot sweets

Including taro potato and sweet potato rice cakes

As well as a variety of sweet beans.

Like I said before, don’t knock it till you try it.

Natalie quickly became a fan!

Tell us what you think, Natalie!

This some good ..... right here! right?

What was that?

gotta get that

potatoes and beans.. potatoes and beans

gotta get me some potatoes and beans

oh.. my.. god...

Anyway, those were some of the main highlights of our trip to Jiufen.

It only takes a few hours to see most of the main attractions, so if you have any leftover

time, I recommend visiting the nearby town of Keelung.

You can take a bus directly there from Jiufen and then easily take a train back to Taipei

once you are done.

Keelung is a port town with a famous night market, so it’s a great place to stop for

dinner on your way back to Taipei.

If you have some daytime left before the night markets open, check out some of the nearby

parks and temples. You won’t be disappointed.

As always, thanks for watching Two Wheel Cruise and joining me on my trip to Jiufen.

If you have any other recommendations of awesome things to do in Jiufen or in Keelung, let

me know in the comments.

If you’re new to this channel, you can subscribe by clicking the logo here.

Be sure to check out the rest of my Taiwan Cycling Trip playlist here as well.

And for the record, I did actually ride my bike on day 10, I just didn’t film it..

Anyway, there'll be more cycling adventures to come in the next video for day 11!

So I'll see you then!